Arrowhead and the Blind Bandit
by Jung Ho
Summary: While stopping to get some much needed rest, Aang and Toph choose to participate in an Earthbending tournament. Without letting the other know they entered. What will happen when they fight each other?
1. Sneak Away Without Being Seen

**Arrowhead and the Blind Bandit**

_Chapter 1: Sneak Away Without Being Seen_**  
**

by: Jung Ho

**Standard Disclaimer:** I don't own the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. All characters and concepts are owned by Nickelodeon/Viacom.

* * *

In the dying daylight, there was a rather large shadow moving towards the village of Lishyr. It happened to be a six ton bison, carrying four passengers. The smallest, a little girl, found it truly amazing that she made it through another aerial trip. Before the massive bison even touched the ground, she jumped feeling as if it was the first time she had felt the cool dirt between her toes. She stretched, basking in the receding warmth of the setting sun. "At last, solid ground!" 

Her three companions and one winged lemur dismounted the bison with much less vigor. There seemed to be some sort of festival, the four travelers decided it wouldn't be a great idea to crash the party what with their track record of festivals. So in a vain attempt to avoid attracting attention, they decided to walk into town instead.

They walked in silence, still waking up from their naps. The girl, whose name was Toph, skipped several meters ahead of them, humming to herself a simple tune. Behind her, there were two boys and a girl. The girl's name was Katara of the water tribe, master waterbender. Everything she wore was some shade of blue, flawed only by the caked mud on her pants and dress. The taller of the two boys was Katara's brother named Sokka was also clad in blue clothing and, like his sister, had his boots and pants caked in mud. The last boy was Avatar Aang. He wore a baby blue arrow, as a symbol of his airbending mastery. The arrow coming off the top of his head followed his spine branching off to his hands and legs. Unlike the water tribe siblings, he wore a colorful orange and red outfit with knee high boots. With him was his staff, which he was currently using as a walking stick.

"I don't think I can take much more traveling…" wheezed out Aang holding onto his staff as it was his lifeline. "I haven't washed my clothes in a week."

"Don't worry, Aang," replied Sokka in an equally tired voice. "We'll stop here for at least a couple days."

When they finally got to town, Aang and Toph looked for the food while Sokka and Katara looked for first-aid supplies. Katara turned around and looked that the prepubescent preteens. "Get the things on this list, _exactly_ how they're written," handing Aang a list of groceries, frowning. "I don't want a repeat of last time."

At this, Aang began to glow in a faint shade of pink while Toph snickered, trying to hide her laughter. They had done the grocery shopping on one other occasion, before they were going through a desolate plateau. They tried to eat some of the fruit that Toph had bought. It turned out that Toph had gotten a type of pet food. Food for what kind of animal, even Toph wasn't sure. The result was irregular bowel movements and vomiting for a full three days.

"You've just got a really weak stomach, is all," retorted the earthbender, waving her hand carelessly toward Katara. Toph herself was able to stomach two of the numerous pieces of said fruit for that trip and held it for a full day an a half before she too succumbed to the poisonous effects of the pet food.

Katara rolled her eyes and then replied. "Well, just make sure its something that normal people would call edible."

"You got it, Katara," Aang promised and the two pairs went in opposite directions.

* * *

"Uhm, Toph? Could you give me a hand?" The question had not come from a human being it seemed, but a rather large pile of groceries. Aang popped his head out of the pile, relieving his body of the crushing weight of the many bags. The Avatar was positive that a few of these things were not on the list. He could not, for the life of him, figure out why Katara would want a "decorated staff of the Earth Kingdom shaman". He was sure of one thing though: Toph had tampered with the list somehow. 

Toph looked back and gave a look of mock disbelief. "You're asking me, a fragile little girl to carry heavy bags? What kind of Avatar are you?" She was sure to project her voice over the crowed alley. Aang quickly looked around and saw the excited glances of men, women, and children alike.

Toph smirked as she ran and turned the corner, removing herself from the scene. Aang looked at the huge crowd that seemed ready to attack him. There was a huge, simultaneous attempt to tackle the discovered Avatar into the ground. Aang had somehow been able to airbend himself from the would-be carnage and bolted down the alleyway. The stampede followed him and he quickly turned a corner and jumped onto the roof. He watched relieved as the stampede of crazy fanatics turned the corner. He was distracted by the loud, unbelievably loud laughter of one particular earthbender.

"Very funny Toph." Aang glided down to the ground carrying the many bags with him.

"You think so, too?" Toph answered as soon as she could breathe. "I should to that more often."

"So are you going to help me carry these bags now?" Aang asked, choosing to ignore her statement.

"Why? You seem to be able to handle the load just fine."

Aang was shocked as he realized that he had been duped yet again. He had, alas, been able to not only carry the bags, but also sprint, jump, and airbend, with their added weight.

Toph looked rather pleased with herself. "Maybe I should write a How To book about earthbending." Aang suppressed a shudder as he thought of the perfect title: _Get Better, or Die!_

'Maybe for the military,' thought Aang as he followed his earthbending master back to the meeting place.

After a couple minutes walking, he was able to think of chapter topics as well, such as "How to Motivate Sissies" and "Positive Reinforement: The Better Way". It was when thinking of a name for the chapter concerning laziness that Aang caught a glimpse of a poster, willingly distracting himself out of possible topics for Toph's book. He paused to read it, forcing Toph to wait for him. Eventually, Toph asked, "so what does the dumb piece of paper say, Twinkle Toes?"

Aang answered in a disbelieving voice answered, "An underground Earthbending Tournament. It's tonight, on the other side of town." Toph's eyes went wide with excitement and sparkled like a child receiving a very special birthday gift. He turned to Toph, who had been able to change her excitement into a frown. "Waddiyasay, should we go and sign up?"

Toph looked back and tried to feign disgust. "Please, it's probably filled with chumps who would call kicking a pile of dirt 'bending'. Besides, what dummy puts up posters for and _underground_ tournament?"

Aang was slightly crestfallen and looked back at the advertisement. "It looks like it could be fun."

Toph scoffed, trying her best to continue sounding uninterested. "Yeah, whatever." To add to her charade, she tried kick a stone on the ground, only to make contact with Aang's shin, making him drop his heavy load. Aang yelped in a combination of annoyance and pain.

"What was that for?" Toph could hear the annoyed tone in his voice.

"What are you talking about? You're imagining things." Before Aang had a chance to retort, she pressed on. "Come on, we have to get back to Katara before she blows up." Toph started a very brisk walk, leaving Aang to struggle with the bags. After he was able to get all the bags on his arms or shoulders, he jogged to meet up with Toph. They continued in silence, both trying to find out a way to sneak away that night without the other noticing.

* * *

Aang was proud to say that they made it to the rendezvous point early. However, when Katara found out about the many unneeded, and quite frankly pointless stuff, she blew her lid anyway. Once inside their campsite, out of earshot, she exploded. "How could you buy all this stuff? I mean, come on! A shaman stick?" 

Aang was not allowed to handle the money since the incident with the waterbending scroll, but he still felt responsible for letting Toph buy all this stuff. With head bent down, Aang took the verbal beating while Toph continued to look unscathed by the barrage of insults.

"Now what are we going to do with this useless junk?" Katara spat furiously. Just then, Sokka came back from doing his thing and surprised the heck out of them with his squeals of uncontrollable joy.

As soon as he saw the mentioned 'useless junk', his eyes lit up like a toddler who was given a brand new toy. "Awesome! An Earth Kingdom club!" He immediately took the shaman stick and began swinging it. He turned to Katara with big, round eyes. "Can we keep it, please?" Katara, with an infatuated brother on one side and an unrepentant earthbender on the other, sighed in resignation and nodded her head.

"You are the best little sister, ever!" Sokka wrapped Katara in a big bear hug and immediately let go to practice with his new weapon. Toph smirked, while Aang relieved being spared the intensity of the teenager's fury.

Katara lightened up a little and began setting up camp while Aang and Toph sat down, watching Sokka practice with his new toy. Besides the shaman staff, there were a few other things that Toph had gotten. There were weights for a future training session that Aang was bound to hate, and Aang tried to strike up a conversation with his teacher. "So have you thought about the tournament?"

Toph tightened. She still hasn't thought about how she was going to sneak out to participate. She began thinking quickly of how to get out while trying to look indifferent. "What about it?" she asked, nonchalantly.

"Are you going to go?"

"Nah," Toph waved away Aang's question as if it was a particularly troublesome fly. She could feel the sudden weight of Aang's body on the earth, meaning he suddenly collapsed or he was slouching. "Are you?" she asked in what she hoped was a disconnected tone.

"I guess not," Aang replied, not noticing Toph's exhale of breath.

"Good." Toph stood up and pulled Aang to his feet. "I've got some presents for you," she said as she pulled the depressed and slightly confused airbender to the large bag. Toph rummaged around in the bag with her arm for a minute and pulled out the ankle weights. "Here." Toph carelessly tossed the weights to Aang, the beginnings of a smirk pulling on her lips.

Aang tried to catch them, but instead, got crushed by their surprising weight. "Wh-What's in these weights, Toph?" he asked, shoving the weights off his midsection and gasping for air.

"Lead," she said in a rather disinterested manner. "I thought your stances could use a bit of work, so I got you some lead weights."

"But I won't be able to move!"

"Come on they're not that heavy." She picked one up with one hand and moved it up and down as if to weigh it. "They're about the same as Momo's weight. So stop complaining and put them on."

Aang cautiously put one on and then the other, admitting to himself that each one was a little lighter than Momo, but their combined weight was substantial. He wrapped them tightly on each ankle and tried jumping with them on. He was unable to get even half of his original height, but he could still move around.

Toph felt the vibrations from his test jumps and nodded. "Good. Keep them on at all times."

Aang was in only slight shock. He must becoming more used to Toph's harsh commands, he mused. Nevertheless, he was surprised that she demanded he never take them off. Assuming she had a reason, he asked tentatively, "Why at all times?"

"Because," Toph said with a sigh. "You'll be more stable. Now you don't have to concentrate as much on stances. Your body will keep going until you get to the point where you keep your stance without even thinking about it; muscle memory, you know. And besides, you'll be faster when you take them off. That's supposed to be a good thing for an airbender, right?"

Aang sighed and decided it would be better to help Katara than argue. He turned and walked way. Toph on the other hand, frowned as she realized that his footsteps were now as heavy as a normal person's, making him hard to identify.

* * *

After dinner, Aang was feeling cheerier than he had been. He had completely forgotten about his weights and was now moving at his previous speed. His mood had changed so much that he was considering going to the earthbending tournament alone. Since he was afraid that Toph would be disappointed in him, he made sure to leave when his earthbending teacher was away practicing. 

He was just about to go when he realized that he was too identifiable because of his clothes and his arrows. He decided to go in disguise. Like when he had met Jeong Jeong, he pulled his cloak over his head and began marching out of the camp towards the city. He was almost out of the clearing when he was stopped in his tracks by a female voice.

"Where're you going?" He turned around to see Katara staring quizzically at his "disguise". Relieved that it wasn't Toph, he told her about the tournament that night. Katara's smile began getting wider and wider. "But you can't tell Toph," he whispered, looking around for the fourteen year old master. "Alright," Katara said with a chuckle. "But there is no way you're not going to get noticed in that." Aang stood there for a minute, trying to make sense of what she just said. She giggled some more and pulled him by the wrist towards the large bag of stuff. "Come on. I'll make sure that you blend right in."

* * *

"Twinkle Toes!" Toph yell into the silence of incoming dusk. She huffed in indignation and crossed her arms over her chest. "Where is he? I've gotta make sure he's not here before I can leave," she muttered to herself. She yelled her pet name again, getting a different boy's voice in return. 

"He's not here." She felt the vibrations of Sokka coming out of the foliage. "Katara said he's somewhere practicing his bending." Toph gave a small sigh in relief. "Good. I'll see ya later, then."

"Where're you going?"

"Earthbending Tournament," she stated, realizing a bit too late who she was talking too.

Sokka started bouncing on the balls of his feet in joy. "Oooh! Can I come?" he asked, his voice full of excitement.

"No. I need you to stay here and cover for me. Tell Sugar Queen I went to check out the town or something."

"Aww. That's no fun." His face fell and stopped bouncing. He became defiant. "Well, what if I follow you anyway?"

"I hadn't thought of that," Toph said in complete truthfulness. She promptly turned around and kicked him in the groin. Sokka's voice squeaked as he went up five octaves and held on to his family jewels in fear that they might fall off from the immense pain. "Good counter point," he squealed as he keeled over onto his side.

"What are you going to tell Katara?" asked Toph in her dangerous sing-song voice.

"Out on the town," Sokka replied in his squeaky one.

"Good boy. I would have made sure you don't follow me in a less painful way, but I'm late." And with that, she began running towards the town, leaving Sokka gripping his cash and prizes, with is eyes watering from the intense pain.

* * *

Aang wasn't sure what to make of the arena. It was on the other side of the town where only the villagers lived, sure, but it was an open air arena. A huge stadium was dug out of the solid ground. Aang was getting a slight nervousness from just looking at the ring's immense size. He gulped, trying to imagine what would happen if he was unmasked in front of hundreds, possibly thousands of screaming spectators. 

He was violently pushed ahead by a rather large earthbender. "Move it, squirt," the burly man grunted, shoving Aang ahead of him with a small push. Aang stumbled by the added force of the large fighter and moved up in the cue of potential fighters.

The line, it seemed, was endless, winding into probably a good three blocks into the village. The Avatar sighed, fully expecting to be barred from contending one way or another. Plus he was going to have to explain himself to Toph. True, she didn't explicitly forbid him from competing in the tournament, but something told Aang she would be upset about it anyway.

When he got up to the registration desk, he pulled down his bandanna to cover his arrow point. A thin, shrewd looking man looked him up and down with a critical eye. "Name?" asked the officiant in a nasal voice. "Uh…" Aang was at a loss for a good ring name. He certainly wasn't going to take Toph's mocking name of "The Fancy Dancer."

"Well?" the man behind the desk asked, this time with blatant irritation in his voice. Aang quickly grabbed something out the air. "Uh…A..Arrowhead. Yeah, The Arrowhead," he stuttered, adverting his eyes from the man in front of him. The man looked Aang over again with a disbelieving glare and wrote the name on the roster. "Fine. 'Arrowhead', you'll be fighter number nineteen." Aang took the piece of parchment with the number nineteen on it and pinned it to the front of his clothes. "Report back when we announce the preliminary rounds."

Aang nodded and began walking toward the stadium once again, marveling in its vastness. He then turned around and decided to go down to the locker rooms to avoid being noticed.

"Finally! My turn!" shouted the large man who was behind Aang. He stepped forward to give his name when there was an odd disturbance in the cue behind him. He turned to see a ripple go through the line, finally making it to the front. He looked around for the guy with the attitude problem, only to be shoved aside by… a little girl?

"Hey, girlie! No cuts!"

"Tough break, weakling."

The earthbender began fuming. "What?" he sneered.

"You heard me. Or should I repeat that for you?"

The man let out a primal roar and charged at the girl, only to be halted by a stone wall that seemed to appear out of thin air. He slid down the wall, landing at the ground dazed. "Anybody else have a problem with me cutting?" The silence of consent was almost deafening, making the girl smirk.

"Er… name?" asked the officiant.

Her smirk widened and replied "The Blind Bandit."

* * *

_So what do you think? I'm a little rusty, what with this being my first thing out in the new year. I've been playing around with this idea for a while now, but I've always put it off. Why? Because, quite frankly, writing is a chore unless I'm in the right mood. Sadly, that mood only comes once in a blue moon, and at ungodly hours of 1:00AM or later. _

_ I was originally going to have this be a oneshot, but I was thinking too big, and so I tried to make it more manageable by cutting it into chapters. That, and I'm too lazy to write the next bit. _

_ Oh, and those who are wondering, I got Aang's fighting name from the bottled water brand, Arrowhead. It's all I've been drinking lately.  
_

_Finally, please keep in mind this version was proofread quickly by me only. I'm hoping to get _Sifu-KataraRose,  
_ to proofread and revise this._ Sifu Toph _and _animekraze _have already done so and I've corrected some spelling errors in it. Please tell me if there are more._

_ So yes. Please review after reading. It would mean a whole lot to me if you did.  
_


	2. The Tournament Begins!

**Arrowhead and the Blind Bandit**

_Chapter 2: The Tournament Begins!_**  
**

by: Jung Ho

**Standard Disclaimer:** I don't own the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. All characters and concepts are owned by Nickelodeon/Viacom.

* * *

"Argh! This is so boring!" 

Toph was getting impatient. It had been about two and a half hours since she had signed up for the tournament and they were still having combatants sign up! The group behind her had decided not to, much to Toph's amusement, but there came a whole new wave of wannabe benders. She was in the locker room, sitting in the only place she could find that wasn't taken up by some idiotic muscle man: the corner. She felt the heavy vibrations of all the fighters, and she was beginning to think that signing up was a mistake. Most of the fighters in the locker room was boasting about their strength and flexing their muscles. Of course, there were some good fighters. They were doing something similar to what Toph herself was doing, just sitting back and either scowling at the crowd of armatures or meditating.

She couldn't find anybody she knew, not that she knew anybody to begin with. When she made it to her corner, she first started to check out the competition. There was nothing worth her while there, so she leaned against the wall, bending three marble sized stones around in her hand. This bored her after a while, and so she sat there, not doing much of anything, and drifting in and out of sleep.

She crossed her arms and huffed. Looks like this tournament had been a waste of time. Maybe there was still time to withdraw from the tournament. Her thoughts were interrupted by another fighter that chose to lean against the wall next to her. She shifted her legs to try to accommodate the new fighter. He gave a nod of thanks leaned more comfortably against the wall. She tried to concentrate on the fighter's characteristics, not that she had much else to do. He was slightly taller than herself, maybe by an inch or two. He was wearing no shoes, as expected, but he was wearing shin guards. He wore some baggy pants as well as a heavy sweater or cloak. As he wasn't moving that much, she couldn't detect much besides that. Still there was something oddly familiar about this fighter. Maybe he was one of the mediocre benders from Earth Rumble Six. "So..."started Toph. "What's your name?"

The fighter made no move that he was going to answer or even heard her question. All she found unusual was the quickened heartbeat.

"Well, what's your stage name then?" she asked somewhat miffed.

After a moment, he began dragging his big toe in the ground, spelling out one character at a time. She waited patiently, surprised that he chose to respond this way.

"The Arrowhead?" Confused, she asked her second question. "Why the Arrowhead?"

He hesitated, Toph assumed, because he didn't know how to answer. He began to start dragging his toe again, spelling out his response. ' I'm sharp' is what it read when he finished. She sat there bemused at his answer.

"Pretty clever..." she muttered, and then turned her attention back to his toe which spelled out 'Your name'.

"The Blind Bandit" she answered with complete confidence.

'Nice name' he scribbled in the ground. He continued by scratching into the ground 'time to go'. And with that, he pushed off against the wall and started walking towards the door that apparently led to the stage. There he met the general crowd of fighters filing into the stadium for the opening ceremonies.

She followed his lead, puzzled. As she walked to the entrance, the benders that were boasting about their prowess moments before quickly fell silent. Apparently, her little stunt at the sign-in line had reached most of the participants. She was too lost in her thoughts to care much. There was something about that fighter. It wasn't his way of communicating; she thought that was pretty cool. What confused her was that, usually, when people heard her name, they would look to see if she was blind. When she told him her name, he didn't even look in her direction, almost as if he already knew she was blind.

* * *

Aang let out a very relieved sigh. He was so sure that Toph had realized what his true identity was. He was so thankful that he was wearing his weights. Otherwise, he may have been found out. When he saw her entering the locker room, he started to become nervous. He waited until there was about five minutes left to mingle to approach her. Luckily, she didn't seem to suspect anything when he didn't give his name. Still, he thought it would be a good idea that he not talk anymore, seeing how she never forgets a voice. 

The general mob going towards the center of the stadium stopped suddenly. He have a grunt as he ran into the person in front of him. The man grunted and turned around to glare at Aang.

Aang pulled his straw hat down. He was glad that Toph had bought so many clothes. He was wearing his usual bright yellow shirt, but instead of his red cloak over it, he wore a dark green vest. He was also wearing his usual pants, but with the yellow cloths ripped off. The man saw nothing but a small Earth Kingdom kid. The fighter grunted and turned to face forward again. He looked past the guy and saw a few coordinators trying to get the group of fighters to line up.

"Why we gots to line up, huh?" grunted the rather muscle bound man towards the beginning of the line.

"To look good," replied the nasal officiant from before. "Besides, the sooner you listen, the sooner you can fight."

Everyone immediately became silent, as the group of coordinators began separating the fighters into groups of twenty. Each coordinator explained to their own line what they were to do. They were to follow the line before them and then branch out and line up on the line for the opening ceremonies.

"Got it?"

Without waiting for an answer, he ushered the fighters out of the trench like tunnel into the screaming masses that was the audience.

* * *

The deafening roar of the crowd hit Toph with full force. She stood there momentarily dazed at the volume of the villagers. Almost automatically, the continued with the line, standing still when they reached their mark. Toph stood there, waiting for what was going to happen next. 

The master of ceremonies was then introduced, and the screams from the crowd got louder, if that was even possible. He went on to welcome the fighters and hoped to have an excellent competition. Toph wasn't listening, she was trying to find the Arrowhead. She tried to find something, anything that would point her in the right direction.

"As there are so many of you wonderful fighters, we will be holding preliminary rounds where there will be a fifteen man melee. The last two standing in the ring will move to the main event tomorrow. However, I do not want those unfortunate to move on to feel left out! Far from it! Which is why they will be rewarded with ring side seats, as close to the action as possible!"

Toph vaguely registered that she would have to come back tomorrow to finish this. She had narrowed Arrowhead down to one of four possible people. The others were too heavy to be him. She tried to remember how distinct he was when he was next to her, but it was impossible. Arrowhead had been leaning against the wall, and there was nothing special about his footsteps. She stopped searching resigned to the fact that she couldn't find him. She hoped that he would make it through the prelims at least.

"And now for the prizes!" announced the master of ceremonies. Toph quickly turned to face the old man, her curiosity piqued. "There will be a grand prize of 500 gold pieces! Second will be just as many silver pieces, and third will be 250 silver pieces!"

Toph grinned. She could always use some more money. She was suddenly very thankful that Aang mentioned the tournament to her. The master of ceremonies then excused himself from the spotlight to be replaced by a large pot full to the brim with wooden sticks. The officiant then turned his attention to the fighters and then told them what they were supposed to do.

The fighters were to come up one by one to draw lots to see which preliminary round they would fight in. The groups were numbered from one to eight, with the group number engraved on the stick. After grabbing a stick, they were supposed to go to the judges table and announce what group they were to be in. They would then be led to the locker room to wait until the next group was called.

Toph stepped up the jar, casually grabbing one of the many sticks in the pile. She then went to the judges table and tossed the stick to the main officiant. He caught it and wrote down the number. He looked up and told Toph she was in group three. She nodded her acknowledgment. She turned to her left and went back to the locker room.

Once inside she sat in the same corner as before, waiting for him to show up.

* * *

When Aang entered the locker room, he immediately looked for Toph. Many of the other fighters had been giving him a hard time before and he needed her company, even if he couldn't talk to her. He found her in the same corner as before, tapping her foot impatiently. 

He walked to the corner though the crowd. When he was close enough to see her, she brightened up. He nodded his welcome and leaned against the wall as before. They stayed there in silence until Toph decided to start talking.

"What group you in?"

He replied as he had before, moving his toe in the ground. 'eight'

"Last one, huh? I'm in group three."

'you gonna win?' he scribbled into the ground.

"Of course," she scoffed. "The question is, are you?"

She waited for him to write his answer. ' Without a doubt'.

"Well, hope to see you in the prelims then," She smiled.

Aang nodded, knowing full well she could pick it up. It seemed that she was having fun, talking and then waiting for his answer. He couldn't help but smile himself. Her happiness was infectious. He slid down the wall, sitting next to her.

"Why'd you sit down?"

' easier to write with my hand than with my toe' he replied.

She giggled. "I guess that explains why your responses suddenly got longer."

Aang smile widened. He was having too much fun.

"So why aren't you talk?"

Aang's happiness slipped a bit. The thought quickly and scribbled his answer.

'can't'

"Why not?"

'lost my voice'

"How?"

'I herd sheepdogs for my family'

"Oh. So your a redneck.."

Aang let out a silent sigh. Now if only he could remember his lie until this tournament was over.

"So when did you start earthbending?"

'When I turned seven. You?'

"I learned when I was really young. I can't remember how old I was, cause I taught myself."

She noticed his hand moving. She concentrated on the ground until he was finished.

'Do tell.'

She smiled. She hadn't told anybody about how she started bending except Aang. "Well I was born blind, and my dad thought I was weak..."

And so they sat there, with Toph seemingly talking to herself and Aang scribbling his interjections and comments about her story into the ground. The other fighters began whispering about the odd couple in the corner. One was crazy in the head and the other was crazy shy. But they didn't care. They were both smiling, having the most fun they had all night.

* * *

They sat there talking for what seemed like hours until the officiant called out for group three. 

"That's me," said Toph, jumping to her feet.

She noticed him writing in the ground again. She paused to read what he said. 'Good luck'

"You too."

She turned and made for the arena. She sprinted through the tunnel to make it to the group in the center. Toph was the last one to get there, with everyone surrounding the head referee for the round. When she reached the group, she had to squirm her way through the brawly fighters to hear the ref. She managed to get to the front of the group to hear what the rules of the fight were.

"...there's no trench, and therefore, no ring outs. The only way for a fighter to be called out is if he is incapacitated or unconscious. Fighters can also forfeit the round if they like to. There is a fifteen minute time limit. Are there any questions?"

One of the burly fighters in the back raised his hand. "Are we allowed to use weapons?"

"No weapons allowed. If you do use a weapon, you will be disqualified."

With that, the man and several others groaned loudly, being robbed of their edge.

"Any other questions?" After a moment of silence, he continued. "Good luck. We'll ring the gong when you can start fighting and time is up." With that, he returned to the judges table. The fighters then scrambled to the center circle, eying their competitions. Many of the fighters were muttering something that Toph couldn't hear. She eavesdropped onto one of them.

"Let's get rid of the little girl first. We're probably doing her a favor, keeping her out of the fighting..."

Toph was about ready to explode. She'd show them she was a force to be reckoned with.

The gong rang out, but many of the fifteen fighters never heard the gong stop ringing. Immediately after the gong started ringing, Toph sent out a shockwave through the earth, knocking many of the unsuspecting fighters off their feet. Many of them hit their head hard when they landed, knocking a few of them out. Others were too dazed to fight. The referee came out to check on the twelve fighters that had fallen and determined all of them out.

For a moment, the crowd was eerily silent. They didn't expect one of the best earthbenders in the village to be knocked out by a concussion. Toph smirked. She absolutely adored embarrassing people in front of their fans.

The remaining two recovered enough to face Toph, now fully aware of what a threat she was. She turned to address them. "I suggest you come with me with everything you got. You don't wanna end up like them do you?" She pointed at the fighters on the ground.

The two fighters looked at each other and nodded. Then they sent two identical boulders at her. She blocked them easily, diverting them towards the wall. "Come on. Is that all you got?"

They looked determinedly at her, trying to come up with a plan to bring her down. Uneasily, they started their offensive. One of the fighters moved towards the right and the other to the left. When both were about ten meters away from her, they let out rock after rock at her.

She frowned, knowing full well that this was going to be hard to counter. For now, she decided to play along. She ducked, rolled, and blocked the incoming rocks. She even had to jump a few times to avoid a wave of earth, leaving her completely vulnerable. Unable to counter at all, she began running towards one end of the arena. The pair of benders followed her, sending out rocks as they went. When she got to the wall, her two predators moved in.

She smirked and went into a deep horse stance. She then slid one foot behind her to trip both at the same time. Acknowledging that she had very little time, she moved her arms out in front of her, slowly raising them up. Just as the two fighters had steadied themselves on their feet, She jumped and slammed both feet into the ground to create smokescreen.

The crowd's cheering suddenly turned into groans and boos because they couldn't see what was happening. Toph, on the other hand traveled into the dust cloud and found one of the fighters. He was in a rather weak defensive stance when she found him. He yelped when he caught sight of her, but it was too late. Toph had bended a large boulder out of the ground and hurled it at her opponent. It made contact with his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As he stumbled back, Toph surrounded him with a mass of rock to trap him.

She turned to find the other bender cowering from her. Feeling rather devious, she put on the most evil grimace she could and pulled him up by the collar.

"And then there was one..."she said menacingly.

She bended a rock in her hand, ready to knock him out. Suddenly, the gong interrupted her act. The smoke suddenly cleared, bended out of the way by one of the judges. They rushed into the arena to take a look at the damage caused. When both fighters were inspected, they wore expressions of complete terror and had dark spots appearing on the front of their pants.

The judges determined that as the fighter that was about to get his head crushed was still able to fight back, he was he should be the other fighter besides Toph to move ahead. When hearing this, he became very faint and forfeited on the spot.

The crowd muttered about what had just happened. The Chen brothers were beaten by some little girl? It was impossible! They were hushed into silence when the gong rang again and the head referee took his spot at the center ring.

"As the second contestant forfeited his spot in the final round, the winner is... number twenty, The Blind Bandit!" Much of the cheers that Toph received were reluctant and half-hearted. She was ushered to the balcony where the master of ceremonies was sitting. Toph didn't care. She was too preoccupied with how the Arrowhead would do.

"You better get to the finals, you redneck."

* * *

_Sometimes, I even amaze myself. I mean, two chapters in the span of one week? I think it is the sign of the apocalypse. Or that I seriously despise my homework._

_I don't think my action scenes are any good. I mean from my point of view, it was kinda weak. Maybe I'm being my own toughest critic, but that's how it sounded to me. Either say otherwise or give me tips to make them more enjoyable, please.  
_

_One of the main reasons for my quick update was because of the great support you guys have given me. So this is my way of thanking you, because well, I can't write thank you comments even if my life depended on it. This chapter was kinda rushed, (started today, in fact) so I wouldn't be surprised if there are any spelling mistakes in it. _

_ Again, please read and review. Who knows, if enough of you review it, I may end up putting up chapter 3 by Friday.  
_


	3. The Arrowhead's Match

**Arrowhead and the Blind Bandit**

_Chapter 3: The Arrowhead's Match_**  
**

by: Jung Ho

**Standard Disclaimer:** I don't own the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. All characters and concepts are owned by Nickelodeon/Viacom.

* * *

As soon as Toph left him alone, Aang immediately moved to the door to hear what he could of the match. He heard the gong ring and the collective thud of what sounded like twelve bodies falling to the ground. After that, he heard very little, save for the bending of boulders out of the ground and the smokescreen.Aang grinned when the winner was announced. He leaned against the wall and slid down to sit down. He knew that Toph would win of course, he just didn't think it would take her the entire fifteen minutes. Maybe he should try to finish his match as quick as possible. 

There was a loud muttering that diverted Aang's attention away from the ring and towards the locker room.

"...the Chen Brothers? Really? They're supposed to be the best benders of their age!"

"Weren't they declared masters just a couple weeks ago?"

"Yeah. Man, I'd hate to be beaten that bad by a little girl."

Aang clenched his fist. Now he understood how Toph felt with her dad. Did everybody talk like this about Toph? He was just about to reveal himself and clobber those idiots.

Aang was about to throw his hat to the ground when he realized the repercussions would be huge. First, it would be suspicious and not to mention unfair to find out both the Avatar and his earthbending master were in the tournament. Toph would be embarrassed, not to mention upset that both of them decided to enter the tournament. With a large exhale of breathe, he decided against it; he wouldn't jeopardize their fun for a little revenge.

He also noted, with a small grin that this must be the same way Toph feels. She could never act out against what people had said about her. She always had to verbally abuse them before she was satisfied. He had realized this before, but all of a sudden, it rang truer to him than ever before. A new kind of respect rose in him for the blind earthbender.

"Group four! Get out there!"

Aang jumped a foot into the air and was pulled from his thoughts and musings. The man who made the abrupt announcement turned and walked briskly towards the arena. When did the referee get into the locker room? How could he have missed that? He was sitting right next to the door! His heart wouldn't stop racing; he clutched his chest as if his heart would jump out from excitement. A group of fifteen benders marched right past him as if he was a rather uninteresting potted plant. He chuckled to himself. He never knew that he could be such a philosopher. And Toph thought he was an airhead.

He continued to sit beside the door, listening to the matches. The fourth round was uneventful, as was the fifth and sixth. The number of fighters in the locker room dwindled down from eighty to thirty. It was only then that the remaining fighters became nervous and restless. The chiseled, muscle oriented men actually started warming up and stretching, as they didn't have as many people to brag to.

There were only three benders that weren't warming up. One was Aang, never the one to prepare for battle. The one of the others was a teen, maybe sixteen. He wore workout pants so brown, they looked black. He wore a tan sleeveless shirt with a green belt tied to both keep the shirt down and the pants up. He also wore wrist guards running up to the elbow on each hand. It looked as if he could not move either forearm at all without hurting himself. His long, ebony hair hung around his face, covering most of his face in shadow.

The other looked vaguely familiar to Aang. He was maybe one or two years older than himself, maybe more. He wore both baggy brown pants and long sleeve shirt, with a tan tunic over, trimmed with dark green. He wore a top knot and a green headband, but had long bangs framing his face. Aang had seen him from somewhere, he just couldn't remember from where. Then the unknown bender casually picked up three pebbles and twirled them with his fingers. And then, just like that, Aang got it; he couldn't believe that he would be here of all places. He pulled down his straw hat to cover his face to avoid getting noticed.

'Why's Haru here?'

* * *

Like many times before, Toph wished that she wasn't blind. She would have given almost anything to be deaf instead. Really. She had to endure four entire rounds of boredom. Not only did she have nothing to do, but the sponsor of the tournament was talking her ears off. He was going on about being the mayor's main benefactor for years and that he was able to do anything without anybody checking his power. He was so powerful, he was even able to bribe the Fire Nation from leaving the city alone. Since the town of no real significance, the Fire Nation Army was willing to let have the sponsor have his way. Not that he knew that, of course. 

Toph occupied herself by trying to tone out the sponsor's annoying chatter with her own thoughts. She may not have known who the Arrowhead was exactly, but he was definitely an excellent bender. He had solid, confident step despite being a newcomer to tournaments, judging from his fast heart rate. Arrowhead also had an air of normality around him; Toph felt unusually comfortable when she was around him.

"Ooh! What spectacular bending! I must say, this is the most interesting round so far," exclaimed the sponsor. He was sitting at the edge of his seat, bouncing in his seat with such vigor, to Toph, he seemed like a blur.

Annoyed with the little man's awe, Toph lazily placed both feet on the floor. She forced herself to become more alert to watch the awesome bending. She planted her feet onto the ground and payed unwavering attention. There was one bender that seemed to have a great advantage over the others. He let out a spray of small rocks and debris towards the fighters ahead of him, but was still able to ward off attacks from his rear with the occasional backward thrust. It was almost as if he possessed psychic abilities to know where attacks would come from.

Toph studied his fighting style with the up most attentiveness. She studied every tiny detail, every insignificant movement. Not even the master of ceremonies' grinding voice could distract her from his bending. It seemed that he would only move defensively. There only a few times he would go on the offensive, but when he did, he knocked out two or three benders out at a time. He practiced a much softer type of bending than either Aang or herself, but it worked for him. He made smooth, fluid movements, taking his time with his attacks.

Finally, it was down to the last three fighters. One was the bender who showed amazing talent. The other two seemed to be muscle maniacs. One had wrapped around his hands gloves of stone and was breathing heavily. The two minute warning was given and the tired muscle man began charging half heartedly at his opponent. The other bender stood still waiting for the attack. He narrowly dodged the attack and nailed the attacker right in the gut. He collapsed, unable to recover from the blow that he received.

He wheezed as he held his ribs. Evidently, one or two of them were cracked. The teenage bender, on the other hand, was only slightly out of breath and wore a face of relief. Medics soon came onto the ring and determined that the muscle man, named Zani, was unable to fight. The teen and the other fighter were declared winners and ushered out of the ring. The injured man was carried out by stretcher.

Toph felt the two fighters make their way up to the box where the other winners had been watching. A round of congratulations by the winners and the sponsor was given to the new additions to the room. Both made small nods of acknowledgment, too tired to say much else. They collapsed onto their own seats and recovered enough to speak, giving their names. The teenager's name was Haru and the other was Soti.

All through this, Toph was silent, not even giving her own congratulations to the fighters. She closed her eyes, drifting in and out of sleep. It seemed Haru was going to give her a run for her money. She chuckled at the thought of having some competition.

* * *

Aang was nervous. Not extremely nervous, but enough to start shaking. At least he hadn't wet his pants or anything. That would have been embarassing. But the shaking was really getting to him. How was he going to bend when his unstable hands? It was impossible. 

He was in the back of the final group, waiting for an officiant to escort them to the ring. Other fighters, in a last attempt to look macho and menacing, started cracking knuckles and necks. Some were even taking off their shirts to expose their sickeningly muscled bodies. Aang struggled to keep both his laughter and his vomit under control.

"Alright! Let's start heading out!" The officiant's yell got everybody's attention and the group started marching them to the center ring. They all stood in an equidistant circle, waiting for instructions. After hearing the directions and the rules, the fighters leered at each other, figuring out which of their opponents to eliminate first. Aang, on the other hand, tried to think of the best way to come out of this fight with minimal damage.

The gong echoed and the fighters immediately jumped at each other. A very surprised Aang hung back,waiting for the smoke to clear. He wasn't about to throw himself into the tangle of bodies without knowing if he would live through it. The occasional arm or foot emerged from the dust cloud before disappearing again into the brawl. Rocks seemed to join the fight of their own accord, flying into the fight. Aang found the scenario hilarious but refrained from bursting into fits of laughter. It was about two minutes until the anything was actually visible.

There was only one bruised and tired fighter in the center, with about ten or eleven bodies scattered around in awkward positions. He was wearing a tired smile on his face, obviously thinking he had won the round. He looked up to see the remaining five fighters watching him. He groaned and collapsed on the ground, too tired to continue.

The fighters who were still standing looked at each other, at a loss of what to do. Then a rock sped though the air to make contact with another fighter square in the forehead and knocking him out. Aang looked around and saw the teenager from the locker room still in a deep stance. The sixteen year old stood back up and noticed Aang's blank stare. He smiled and winked and the airbender immediately relaxed. The teenage earthbender immediately jumped at the opportunity and attacked the fighter opposite him.

Aang turned towards his own opponent, another muscle man idiot who had taken off his shirt. The fighter had his hair in a top knot and wore a sort of goatee. The stare down came to an abrupt end when the bender slammed his foot into the ground, pulling up a boulder out of ground. He shifted his stance and punched the rock, sending it flying. Aang had the impulse to jump over it. He was ready to do it, but then realized it would have given away his identity as an airbender. Instead, he stood his ground and challenged the boulder. The impact forced the twelve year old back about twenty meters before he was able to stop it completely. He had a feeling he was going to check himself through the entire fight.

Aang pulled the rubble around him into a sort of wall, punching it and sending smaller boulders at his opponent. He dodged them easily, and even counter attacked with another boulder. Aang's barricade was shattered, sending him back further. The Avatar clutched his head, trying to quiet the pounding of blood filling his ears. He looked up to see his opponent standing over him.

"The Boulder wins this round!" he shouted as he bended an extremely large rock above his head.

Aang, with a rush of adrenaline, swung his legs in a full circle, with a rock wave trailing his heels. The Boulder tripped, landing with a thud while Aang jumped back up. He then sliced the rock that The Boulder was bending in half. The tables turned with The Boulder on the ground and The Arrowhead in a fighting stance.

"Wrong," said the boy, bending a giant cone around his right forearm. "The Arrowhead wins." With that, Aang slammed the menacing looking stalagmite into the ground. An extremely large cloud of dust enveloped the scene, obscuring both of the fighters in its haze. The spectators stood up, in a vain attempt to get a better view. Even the teenager, who had won his fight, turned and waited for the outcome.

A small breeze blew over the hanging obstruction, with both fighters in exactly the same positions as before. Doctors rushed onto the ring, to check out the damage done to The Boulder. The crowd waited with baited breath as the medical team examined both fighters. There was an audible sigh of relief as the defeated fighter unsteadily got to his feet.

Aang let out a loud exhale as he leaned on his knees. The looked over and smiled to see that the teen had beat his opponent as well. There was a sudden pull on the collar of his shirt as one of the officials pulled him to the referee. Another officiant had done the same to the other winner. Aang's arm was yanked into the air, as was the teenager's.

"And the winners are... The Arrowhead and Kwon!" The referee loud voice carried throughout the stadium.

There was a swell of cheering from the crowd. Aang looked around and saw Kwon with a grin on his face. When he noticed the twelve year old's glance, he winked again as his grin widened to a smile. They were soon joined by the other winners.

"These are our finalists! Please come back tomorrow for the main event!"

Aang felt a punch on his left shoulder. He looked around and saw Toph smirking.

"Nice finish, Red."

Aang couldn't help but smile at the compliment.

* * *

The winners were ushered back into the locker room for further instructions. They all sat down on the benches, talking with each other. Toph only then took a good look at her main competition. There was a total of fifteen fighters, including herself. Seven or eight of them were under eighteen and the others were the muscle men. Toph noticed with some contentment that the muscle men were not of the flashy kind; they were serious benders. The master of ceremonies walked in and the group was immediately silent. 

"Congratulations to all of you! Now, please make yourselves comfortable. There you go. Okay, all of you are to come back tomorrow for the main tournament. It will also be at night, around the same time, in fact. However, the venue will be the main stadium, in the town square.

"For the remainder of this tournament, weapons without a blade are permitted. This includes staffs, nun chucks, wooden swords, hammers, et cetera. There will be a trench at the main arena, meaning ring outs are possible. There will also be a longer time limit of one half hour. Any questions?"

"Will we get breaks in between rounds?" asked one of the benders.

"Ah! Excellent question!" quipped the speaker. "There will be a break after the semifinal round. The break will be one hour and after that, the fight for third place will start. After that, the final round will immediately follow. Anything else?"

After a few seconds of silence, the master of ceremonies clapped his hands.

"Well then, good luck to all of you and see you tomorrow!"

The contenders were sent away with a new feeling of apprehension and excitement. Aang was on his way back to the campsite when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Toph smiling back at him.

"Hey."

Aang was about to return the greeting when he realized Toph didn't know who he was. He dragged is toe in the dirt again, spelling out 'hi'.

Toph frowned. "So your voice isn't back yet?"

'nope'

"That's too bad..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say next. She then noticed that there was another message on the ground

'Wanna walk around?'

"I don't know. It's getting kind of late." She noticed that her cheeks were starting to feel warm. Her realization only made them get hotter.

'only for a little bit'

"Okay," muttered Toph and together, they walked towards the fair.

The many booths and shops were still open, even though it was surely after three in the morning. They spent their time together looking at the various trinkets and snacks the vendors were selling. Once, Aang stubbed his toe while writing, much to Toph's amusement. After that, he had used Toph's hand as a writing pad. They were having the best time in the world. The duo had so much fun, they didn't realize they stayed out until the sun rose.

The sun's rays hit Aang in the eyes, dazzling him. Instead of writing in the ground, he grabbed Toph's hand.

'it's sunrise'

Toph looked slightly crestfallen at his newest message.

"Already? But we were having so much fun."

'we'll see each other tonight'

"At the tournament," Toph muttered with a smile. "Alright then. I'll see you tonight."

'later' was his repsonse as she felt his footsteps move away from her.

"Hey!" Aang stopped and turned around. He saw the small twelve year old girl giving him the thumbs-up sign, a grin on her face. "Better make it to the finals, Red."

Aang wrote in the ground 'I'll see you there'.

Both walked away with smiles on their faces, excited for their match tomorrow.

* * *

_Chapter 3 is finally finished. Let me tell you, it was a real effort, and it's still on the short side, under 3000 words. I have new found respect for authors who update frequently. _

_I don't really like this chapter all that much. I started it right after the first reviews for Chapter 2 came out. Then, all my drive for Avatar evaporated. Poof. Gone. Without a trace. Even now, I don't feel anything about Avatar. Maybe it's because Season 3 hasn't come out yet. Or maybe it's because I suck. _

_ Anyway, please read and review. I'm going to rewrite this chapter too, so tell me what to improve. I'd love you forever.  
_


	4. Conversations and Revelations

**Arrowhead and the Blind Bandit**

_Chapter 4:Conversations and Revelations_**  
**

by: Jung Ho

**Standard Disclaimer:** I don't own the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. All characters and concepts are owned by Nickelodeon/Viacom.

* * *

Aang looked out at the sun rise. He lived for these moments. The young Avatar absolutely adored watching nature's underappreciated phenomena. It was a time when he could be himself and just enjoy the scenery. The fog rolling back and evaporating, leaving the crisp feeling of cold. He breathed in deeply, taking in the new day's scent and possibilities. Aang closed his eyes and listened to the many animals waking up from a good night sleep. He could have sat there and think for the whole day. A very loud yawn broke the silence. He turned around to see Sokka walking out of his tent. 

Sokka on his part, looked very disheveled. His hair was a mess and his clothes seemed a darker shade of blue than Aang remembered. The water tribe warrior didn't even give Aang a parting glance as he turned around and walked into the undergrowth. Aang blinked, very confused on what he had just witnessed. As far as he knew, Sokka wasn't a morning person or a sleepwalker. So why was he up and about at sunrise?

The sound of trickling water and a very satisfied sigh gave the air bender his answer. He turned around to hide his face from the returning Sokka. Apparently, he was now wide awake and just noticed Aang. Sokka walked over and sat next to his bald friend.

"So," Sokka started, " how'd you sleep last night"?

"Alright I guess," Aang managed to answer, amidst chokes and coughs of laughter.

"You okay?" asked Sokka giving his friend a concerned look.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a shock from the cold air is all."

"As long as your alright," the warrior trailed off turning back to the rising sun.

They sat in silence for a good long minute before Sokka started conversation again.

"So there's an earth bending tournament tonight in town. Wanna go?"

"No, I'm okay. I think I'll just stay at camp tonight. Besides, too many people will recognize me."

"Oh right," Sokka replied slightly crestfallen. "What if Toph was there?"

"No, I'm alright. Really."

"Alright."

Another minute of silence.

"Why're you up so early anyway?" asked Sokka.

Aang flinched at the question. After the tournament had ended and he and Toph went their separate ways, he had to make sure that she didn't notice him going to back to camp. That would have been very awkward and brought on a very intense earth bending 'session'. So Aang hung around the town until he was sure that Toph was asleep. The young Avatar actually slept in an alleyway while killing time and woke up with back pains. Unable to fall asleep when getting back to camp that morning, he decided to clean up camp, change into his usual garb, and watch the morning begin. He had been sitting on Appa's back for a good hour before Sokka decided to join him.

"Uhm," Aang stuttered. "S-same reason as you?"

At this, Sokka nodded knowingly and put his arm around the twelve year old. "I get'cha. Those morning urges are a powerful thing."

"R-right," muttered Aang. He then got up and dusted himself off. "Well, I'm gonna go try and get some sleep. I'll see you later, Sokka."

"Alright. Later," replied the water tribe boy as he turned at watched the sun continue to rise.

As soon as Aang got to his sleeping bag, he collapsed from sheer exhaustion and fell asleep right then and there. He wasn't allowed to sleep long, though. As soon as Aang had gotten comfortable, he felt a small jab in the small of his back. Thinking it was some sort of burrowing mouse, he simply shifted to lie down on his side. Again the burrowing mouse poked his head up, but with a bit more force. Annoyed, Aang moved to the bottom of his sleeping bag and curled into the fetal position. A torrent of earth then launched the once sleeping, now screaming Avatar into the air.

"Morning, sleepy head."

Aang looked up and saw that Toph was responsible for his uncomfortable wakening. By now, he was used to this morning ritual and didn't complain. Instead he gave a very big yawn and muttered, "What're we doing today, Toph?"

"Oh, just some warming up and a few sparring matches. Nothing heavy."

"Alright," Aang said sleepily. He then did a double-take, not believing what his teacher said. After examining Toph for a bit more, he noticed small bags forming under her eyes and that her eyes were hazy. She didn't stand proud and yell like a drill sergeant either; she seemed every bit tired as Aang himself.

"What're you staring at?" asked Toph, putting on a very quizzical look.

"Did you just say 'nothing heavy'?" Aang couldn't help but open his mouth in amazement.

"Yeah, what of it?" replied Toph while obviously trying to stifle a yawn.

"Nothing," smiled Aang. "So where's today lesson?"

Toph pointed towards the east. "A clearing over there about fifty paces away."

"Alright, let's go."

Not talking much, both student and teacher dragged their feet towards the said clearing.

* * *

For once, Toph was actually happy to be almost finished the morning training. She was so tired from the tournament last night. Never before had she stayed up that late. Of course, she didn't blame herself for that; it was the Arrowhead's. But somehow, Toph didn't mind all that much. She had a lot of fun with him after the tournament. 

"Hey Toph!"

The yell pulled her away from her own musings. After giving herself a mental headshake, she focused on the airbender before her. She sensed what his ready position was. Aang was in a horse stance, with both his hands in front of him, one with the palm facing her and the other with the edge. Nothing was wrong with his stance, but his energy seemed to be lacking. He wasn't holding the stance very strongly. Vibrations seemed to flow right though him, making him harder to see.

"Before we start," yelled Toph, "is there a reason why you're tired?"

"Didn't sleep well," answered her opponent. "So we starting?"

She grinned as she slipped into her own ready stance. They stared each other down, neither making a move. In an instant, both started running toward each other at full speed. Toph skidded to a halt to feel his approach. He was still running at full speed but still a ways off. She then hopped into the air. While landing, she slid her right foot in front of her, turning the ground between them into sand. Aang stumbled before regaining his composure, but was forced into the defensive.

Toph had already started her counter attack. Using a series of fast arm movements, rock after rock propelled themselves at Aang. Not having enough time to erect a wall, the Avatar had no choice but to parry them by hand. Aang's only hope was the shower of meteorites end soon. Much to his disappointment, the bombardment continued for a while. When it finally stopped, he realized that Toph was now much closer than before. She was now about two meters from Aang, and was grinning. A grinning Toph was never a good thing.

Toph first crouched down and pushed her palm upwards. A pillar of earth followed her hand and into the gut of the airbender. The pillar never made contact because Aang fell backwards, avoiding a potentially painful injury. While falling back, he pulled his arm upwards, followed by a large cloud of sand. Both benders where surprised by the accidental bending. The sand acted as a cushion allowing Aang to escape unscathed.

Both stood once again in a stalemate. Toph was first to recover from this surprise.

"So how'd you do that?"

"I don't know. It just kinda happened."

Toph grinned . "I think that's enough, Twinkle Toes. I'm tired." She turned around and left to get some sleep before the tournament began.

Aang on the other hand, still looked stunned at what happened. After thinking for a minute, he grinned went straight to work.

* * *

"Come on, Katara! Let's go!" Sokka yelled at the blue figure in the distance. 

Katara had been teaching Aang about the different ways to waterbend without actual water. "…Remember, if it's really humid, you can condense that into bendable water. Since you're the Avatar though, you probably won't have to use that". She giggled at her own little joke.

"Thanks Katara!" Aang beamed at her.

"Katara! Let's go!" Sokka yelled again.

"Hold on a minute!" Katara answered, looking annoyed at her brother's constant screams. She turned to her pupil. "Well, you heard him. Let's go." Katara began walking towards Sokka and Toph when she felt a hand grab a hold of her wrist.

"Don't tell them I'm going, okay?" Aang whispered, making careful glances at the pair behind her.

"Why not? I thought you were fighting in the tournament," Katara asked in genuine confusion.

"Yeah, I am but Toph doesn't know that." After Katara's puzzled look didn't go away, Aang continued. "I entered the tournament and found out that Toph was there but I didn't want her to know I entered. She might have gotten mad and then pulled out of the tournament. She would never let me live in peace after that."

A face of acknowledgement soon dawned on Katara's face. She smiled and patted Aang on the shoulder. She enjoyed being the one who knew everything. It made the whole situation a whole lot more entertaining.

"Alright Aang," replied the water bender with a grin. "I won't tell them a thing."

A sigh of relief issued from the airbender when he heard this promise.

"But how are you going to get there?" asked Katara.

Aang slipped when he heard the question. How was he going to get there? After a moment of hard, deep thinking, he finally had an answer. "I'll fly there. No problem."

Katara smiled at the answer, signaling her approval. She started walking back towards Sokka and Toph.

"Wait!"

Katara turned around and saw the determined eyes of her friend.

"Watch out for the Arrowhead."

The waterbender felt a glow of admiration grow inside her as she walked back to the impatient brother and Blind Bandit.

* * *

Toph was bored. Again. She was waiting for the Arrowhead to show up. She had already signed in and had been waiting around for a good fifteen minutes. She was leaning on the wall nearest the entrance of the locker rooms. To keep herself busy, she let her mind wander about why her new friend hadn't shown up yet. Maybe his throat was actually the flu. Maybe he was actually incredibly sick. Maybe he was slowly dying in his bed at home, with a sheepdog was barking at his window. 

She then felt the incredibly heavy footsteps of someone running towards her. She was glad to hear the ragged breathing of a boy getting closer and closer. She felt the vibrations skid to a halt at the registration desk.

"Ring name?" asked the extremely nasal voice from last night. The ragged breathing prevented the new comer from answering right away.

"The Arrowhead," replied the wheezing, gasping voice of the fighter.

Toph suddenly sat up straight. His voice sounded very, very familiar, but she couldn't place where she had heard it before. The voice she heard was not only wheezing from his run, but the voice she heard was also extremely raspy, as if he was, indeed, sick. For the first time since she met the Arrowhead, she was worried for his well being. Even when the Boulder almost crushed his head in, Toph still didn't panic. A disease, though was something to be worried about.

The officiant hummed to himself as he searched for the name. He let out a satisfied little snort when he checked off the name. The Arrowhead leaned on his walking staff when he entered the locker room. He was still extremely out of breath when he found his spot next to Toph. Her heart was suddenly pounding as he tried to get his breathing under control.

In an attempt to start conversation, she said in a very breezy voice, "Nice voice there, Red."

If she didn't know any better, his heartbeat actually quickened for a moment.

"I think I might be coming down with something," the Arrowhead replied in the same raspy voice. "It still hurts to talk."

"Well, don't worry bout it. I liked it better when you had to spell everything out in the ground."

'Why?' The question was asked not out loud, but it was written in the dirt.

She grinned when she read the message.

"Because it makes me look like I'm crazy."

'And how's that a good thing ?'

"Because then we don't get bothered by annoying meatheads."

A chuckle told Toph that he was well enough to interact with people. Now if only he was healthy enough to fight tonight. It was then she noticed he had something with him.

"What'cha got there?"

Her companion stopped writing in what she could only assume was confusion.

"That thing in your lap." In reality, the object in question was leaning against the Arrowhead's shoulder, touching his foot. The description was good enough for the boy to know what she was talking about. He started writing his response.

'my staff'

"A staff huh?" she tried her best to hide the disappointment in her voice. "So you're gonna use a weapon?"

'yeah' as soon as he had finished writing it, he used his hand to erase his message and began writing his next message. 'what's wrong with that?'

"Nothing," and Toph said sincerely. "I just thought you were strong enough to not use a weapon. It's kinda boring if you use one."

'well, I guess' There was a short, but very awkward pause. The Arrowhead then started writing again. 'I won't use it against you though'

Toph felt a slight sting of annoyance. "You think I need a handicap?" without trying to sound too angry.

'no, its cause I'm better without my staff.' Almost as an afterthought, he added, 'my teacher was so good that weapons usually get in the way when I bend.'

Toph accepted the explanation with a smile. "OK, fine. But if I think your better with that wooden pole, then you better use it."

'gotcha.'

Unlike the first one, this lull in conversation was much better. This was a silence that neither of the teenagers wanted to end.

* * *

Aang counted himself extremely lucky. He thought for sure he was going to be found out. He was actually very happy that he might be sick; it concealed his voice better. He had to make a few more mental notes about his staff and his voice from their conversation just now, but it was worth it, just to know Toph wouldn't be suspicious of him. 

It was then Aang noticed a figure was approaching them. He turned around to see who it was when he saw it was the fighter from yesterday. Today, he changed his attire, as if to show that he was starting with a new sense of resolve. He still had his arm braces from before but his wardrobe was completely different. This time, he wore a terra cotta, high collar shirt, with sleeves that seemed to fan out the farther it went down his arm. The teenager opted for a much more elaborate outfit, so he also wore a green vest over his shirt forming a surprisingly stylish combination. He wore black shorts, ending at about his shin with the same green belt on. He was also wearing long stalking like socks with the foot of the sock cut off. It was held together by ties at the top and the bottom. He wore a warm smile that relaxed Aang immediately.

The sixteen-year old motioned for Aang to follow. A little surprised, he wrote into the ground 'I'll be back in a minute'. Receiving a nod from Toph, he got up using his staff as a support, and walked to the newcomer.

They stopped walking when the fighter was sure they were out of earshot of Toph. He turned to face Aang.

"My name's Kwon," said the teen without so much as a greeting. "You're the guy from my match from last time, right?"

"Uh…yeah."

"I just gotta tell ya, I was really impressed by your moves." Aang felt the a warm glow, suddenly very aware of his reddening face. "I just wanted to tell you good luck in the tournament and I hope we fight in the semifinals."

"Thanks Kwon." Aang turned around and started walking back. He didn't hear Kwon mutter, "Hope you can make it to fight me, Avatar." Kwon smiled with chilling amusement that was not there before. He turned around and went back to his spot on the opposite side of the locker rooms.

* * *

Aang managed to get back to Toph through all the other fighters. He slumped down and let out a sigh. 

"So what did the guy want?" asked Toph.

'wanted to wish me good luck'

"How come?"

'said he was impressed with my fight'

"Oh." Toph was a little miffed that he didn't ask to see her, but then remembered, that this new guy never saw her fight. 'I'll make sure he takes me seriously,' she thought with determination.

'so'

The writing on the ground had the same effect as spoken word; Toph was promptly pulled out of her reverie. 'how do you know how to read? aren't you blind?'

Although Toph was annoyed by the question, she was pleased with its source. Most people, except for Sokka, Katara, and Aang, would steer clear of such blunt wording. They usually saw her blindness as a weakness, and so treated her as weak. She considered anybody who asked her straight about things like her ablility to read commanded respect and so Toph almost always gave it to them, in her own way of course.

"Kinda straight forward, aren't you?" Toph asked with mock annoyance. She smirked and started explaining. "My dad figured that even though I was blind, I should have to be illiterate. So he made a bunch of wooden slabs with characters carved into them. I'd have to sit at some crummy desk for hours, tracing my fingers through those grooves. It was annoying as hell, but at least now I'm getting some use out of it."

Just as she finished her story, one of the officiants came into the room. "All spectators and non-fighters, please clear out into the stands. We will now be starting the opening ceremonies in three minutes. All competitors, please line up in single file to be escorted to the arena. Line up by your groups from yesterday."

"Well, that's enough for story time," Toph said with a smile as she stood up. "I'll meet you out there, Red." She started walking toward her place in line, attracting wary stares and starting hushed conversation. Aang also got up and went to his place in line next to Kwon. He saw the smiling teenager and smiled back.

"Good luck again," Kwon said. "Your gonna need it," he thought with malice.

Aang gave only a nervous chuckle in reply.

The officiant came back into the locker room. "Please follow me to the stadium! The Opening Ceremonies are about to begin!"

* * *

_So, after what is definitely considered an age, I've finally finished Chapter 4. Let's see... My last update to this was in May, so that makes this my first post in about seven months. And that definitely sucks, I know. I kinda wish I had more initiative when it comes to writing, but alas, I'm a lazy kid. I also happen to be a senior in high school this year which means applying for colleges, keeping my grades up, and all that good stuff. Except now its more important, cause its a matter of pride. My counselor even told me I'm a lot smarter than what my transcript says. I gotta start buckling down and studying. _

Anyway, more on Avatar. I have indeed, watched the first half of season 3. I must say, I am very impressed by the storyline, the art, the animation everything. It was a great watch.

As for the chapter, believe me, I started this back in May. So the style of writing may be different from beginning to end. Mostly filler, but I thought it was necessary. I will be able to put a whole lot of more action in the next one. As usual, I think it's pretty much crap. I swear, if I could animate this stuff, everybody would be so much happier. Anyway, I know my "fan base" if you can call it that probably won't care about this one but read and review anyway. Please and thank you.


	5. More Fights, More Fighters, More Fun

**Arrowhead and the Blind Bandit**

_Chapter 5: More Fights, More Fighters, More Fun_

by: Jung Ho

**Standard Disclaimer:** I don't own the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. All characters and concepts are owned by Nickelodeon/Viacom.

* * *

Sokka was always impulsive when it came to tournaments. In fact, he was always impulsive. Katara couldn't believe that he convinced her to go to this tournament. She tried hide her face in her hands while Sokka, it seemed have devolved into a baboon-bear.

"Come on!" shouted the water tribe warrior. "Let's have some action!"

There was a rumble of general agreement to his words, encouraging the other spectators to do the same. Sokka opened his mouth to voice more popular opinions, but was cut short because he was pulled down into his seat by his sister.

"Can you please try to control yourself?" asked the water bender through her teeth with obvious exasperation.

"Come on. How can you even say that?" retorted Sokka. "I mean, we're about to watch some serious butt kicking! How can you not be pumped up to see that?"

Katara sighed, bemused about her brother's unique look at…well everything.

Just then there was a gong and the entire stadium went quiet. All the torches save the ones lighting the ring in the stadium went out.

* * *

Toph was guided into the ring leading the other fourteen fighters by one of the many officiants. She was told to stop and turn towards the closest side of the arena. She did so lazily, as if to show that she was the best one there and that the ceremony wasn't worth her time.

The master of ceremonies followed the fighters out into the ring and stood behind them all. Apparently, he was an amateur earthbender because he was able to bend a makeshift stage. He was also apparently gifted with a very loud voice because Toph thought she have had to add deafness to her disabilities.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Lishyr's tenth annual "Underground" Earthbending Tournament!"

He paused to allow the crowd before him to yell appreciatively at his welcome.

"And these," he said, waving his hand over the competitors, "are our finalists! We wish them luck as they battle for the grand prize of 500 gold pieces!"

Some of the competitors clapped along with the roar of the crowd.

"Our first round will be against Soti versus Dina! I would like to invite our other participants to return to the locker room to prepare for their own matches."

Everyone except for one of the musclemen and a teenage girl armed with an umbrella were asked to leave the ring. As Toph and the others left, the other torches were reignited, and the master of ceremonies yelled that the tournament had officially begun.

Toph walked back into the locker rooms all the while trying to get the annoying voice of the master of ceremonies out of her head. Glad to get away from the racket, she tried to feel a staff's vibrations through the mess of other fighters. She grabbed the shoulder of the person carrying it, hoping it wasn't the wrong guy. He made no effort to shake her off, and immediately relaxed, trying to hide the faint blush that was forming on her cheeks.

* * *

"Alright," the head officiant quipped as he got out the roster. "This…" he said pointing towards the chart, "is the line up in terms of match ups and the order, reading from left to right. Due to ah," he paused to glance at Toph. "Certain circumstances, the Blind Bandit will receive a bye from her first match."

A murmur traveled through the assembled fighters about the prowess of the blind girl. The officiant cleared his throat in order to get everyone's attention again.

"The next match will be between…"

His voice faded into the general background as Aang looked around him to see who else was fighting in the main tournament. He saw Toph looking bored, leaning against the wall. His eyes wandered across Haru as well, now sporting what looked like facial hair. He suppressed a shudder at the sight. His mustache was definitely doing nothing for him. He also saw the fighter named Kwon, standing straight, listening to the match-ups. Nobody else really stood out to him.

He sighed and collapsed onto a bench. He hadn't had a chance to make up from last night's escapade and was really feeling the result. He leaned against his staff, ready to doze off until his match. He didn't even get to get comfortable because he was suddenly pulled away from his sleeping area.

He turned to see who was dragging him and he wasn't at all surprised to see Toph. He sighed at her apparent excitement.

"Where're we going?" croaked Aang. He definitely had a sore throat now.

"To watch the first match."

"Why?"

"Because it'll be fun," replied Toph.

Aang couldn't see it, but he was pretty sure that Toph was smiling ear to ear, obviously having too much fun to care about his sleep deprived state. He didn't mind. If she was happy at the tournament, then she was gonna show it, other peoples' problems be damned. It was also an uplifting experience to see Toph happy. Her joy was contagious and energized Aang. As long as he stuck close to her, he shouldn't be tired at all.

They reached the ring, standing within the tunnel, as to not distract the fighters. They guarded opposite sides of the hallway to allow bustling officiants room to come and go. Toph knelt down and put her right hand on the ground as to get a better view of the fight. Aang simply watched the amazing spectacle in front of him.

Soti clearly had the upper hand. He sent a never-ending barrage of rocks toward the girl, Dina, and the only thing she could do was to use her umbrella was to bring up wall after wall to block the onslaught of boulders. She kept giving ground until she was at the edge of the ring. Soti grinned as pulled up a multitude of boulders to float menacingly and waited the girl to understand the predicament she was in. A terrible mistake.

She saw how close the edge and threw away her weapon, a tactic that confused everyone. She then slid into a traditional horse stance, as if to bend without her weapon. 'If she wasn't gonna use her weapon, why did she bring it?' Aang thought. He looked at Toph so see what she thought. The air bender was confused further to see an understanding smirk appear on her lips.

"Guess she's better without her 'weapon'," said Toph.

Aang turned back to the fight to see what Toph meant. He looked back in time to see Dina bring up her own gang of stones to throw. They stared each other down for several seconds. Soti took the offensive and threw all his rocks at various speeds and angles almost guaranteeing him a win by ring out. Both Soti and Aang were surprised by what Dina did next. She matched all the boulders with her own, negating the oncoming barrage.

Everyone was shocked with awe, except for Toph whose smirk widened and Dina who pulled the rocks back toward her. She walked forward and picked up her umbrella and swung it like a sword to direct three or four stones at a time toward her opponent. Soti was forced to recover from his daze in order to block the oncoming projectiles.

With each swing of her umbrella, the girl was able to take another step forward and push Soti another step backward. It was a complete reversal, as Dina pushed Soti back to his edge of the ring. When she ran out of rocks to hurl, she simply reused them, using her umbrella as a pole to kick with both legs. She was relentless, never giving him a chance to recover.

He was soon at the edge, an almost exact recreation of what happened on the other side of the arena. Spectators were mumbling and whispering to each other about the girl's precision and finesse. Soti looked back towards the trench between the ring and the stands, not knowing how to get back into the center of the ring.

Meanwhile, Dina undid the ribbon holding her umbrella together. She gathered all the debris that was used against her opponent into a dense ball of earth above her. Soti frantically looked from her to the rock formation not knowing what to expect. She brought her umbrella to her eye level and smiled.

"Thanks for the match!" It came as a surprise. A heartfelt thanks coming from the girl who had easily overpowered the man. Her bubbly attitude threw off almost everybody watching, including Soti. She used the opening she created to attack. Dina dropped into a front stance and opened her umbrella to have the ball hurl itself piece by piece at her now speechless opposition like meteorites. Soti couldn't recover fast enough and was pushed into the trench, ending the match.

The officiants intervened, bending a platform for Soti before he became injured from his fall as well as ushering Dina to the center of the ring.

"The winner: Dina!" announced the head officiant in his nasal voice over the screams and cheers of supporters. Aang could hear Sokka's cheer quite well.

"OOH YEAH! That's what I'm talkin' about!"

Aang smiled at his friend's obvious enthusiasm. He turned to see Dina walk towards him. He smiled at her, as if to nonverbally express his congratulations. She stopped to look at Aang. She examined him for a bit and returned the smile with her own.

"Nice smile, cutie!"

She turned back towards the locker room and walked away, leaving Aang feeling flustered and Toph frowning.

"She was really good," offered Aang still trying to regain his composure.

"She was decent," corrected Toph. "Let's watch the second match!" her excitement and enthusiasm returning.

Aang couldn't help but grin "Alright."

They waited for the two fighters to come out into the ring, but only one came. He passed by the two, either not noticing them or not caring. He entered the stadium and reported to the head officiant. Aang turned around to see who the other fighter was, but instead saw an officiant running towards them. He stopped at the duo panting from his run.

"Are you the Arrowhead?" wheezed the officiant, leaning on his knees.

"Uh, yeah," answered Aang, confused at what he was getting at.

"You're the next fight!" exclaimed the officiant. "Get in there!"

Aang was pushed into the ring, clutching his staff and being careful not to trip. He wasn't ready to fight. And he certainly wasn't ready to follow that act. How can he top Dina's fight? Swallowing in an effort to control his nervousness, he walked purposefully towards the center, not hearing the yells and cheers of the audience.

When he got to the center, the officiant asked for his name.

"The Arrowhead," Aang replied, trying to regain control of his panicking body.

The officiant nodded and straightened up.

"The next match! Crag versus the Arrowhead!"

* * *

Toph frowned at the match-up. Her friend, the Arrowhead against a towering body builder armed with two hammers. She would have liked to say that it was a guaranteed victory for Red, but "Crag" felt like someone who had been training for years. His body seemed to be made of rock itself, hard and unyielding. Red's was the opposite, a small skinny preteen with no muscle to speak of. How much more unmatched can it get?

The two stood in front of each other, waiting for the head officiant to begin the match. Toph could feel Red's heartbeat going at the speed of sound from where she knelt. She couldn't even get a great picture of him; he seemed to be made of water, leaning on his staff for support. He was definitely not in any condition to fight.

"Begin!" The sound of a gong reverberated throughout the arena, cuing hundreds of people to start cheering and yelling for the fighters in the ring.

Crag made the first move, using his hammers to send waves of earth at the Arrowhead. He slammed the hammers into the ground without resting, turning the stage into a forest of spikes. His relentless attacks also caused dust clouds to form at Red's side of the ring, leaving many spectators unable to see what had become of the bandana wearing fighter.

But Toph knew; dust clouds were the same as air for her. She saw what happened. And didn't like what she saw. Red was on the ground, staff thrown out of bounds. He was clutching his side and she could feel the steady drip of something falling onto the ground.

Red was far from done, it seemed. He stood up, unsteady from the blow he received. He didn't even attempt to look for his weapon, instead opted to bend the old fashioned way. And the stance he took sent shivers down her spine. It was the same stance she used when bending. The exact same.

He stood still for a moment, and Toph wasn't sure what to make of it. He then leaped into action punching the spikes toward his opponent. Of course, since nobody but her could see what he was doing, Crag was caught off guard from the sudden rain of stalagmites coming from the brown cloud. He used his hammers to try to hit every rock out of the way. But the rate at which they came increased and Crag was forced to abandon his weapons in order to keep up with the surge of stone spears speeding towards him.

The rain of rubble stopped as suddenly as it had begun and Crag took the chance to recover from the newest attack.

Toph redirected her attention at her friend who was now stomping the ground. He wasn't bending, just stomping sending huge vibrations through the ground. She didn't understand what he was doing. Maybe he was frustrated that he didn't have anything to bend any more. Or maybe he lost his ability to bend. She didn't have time to think of any other preposterous 'maybes' because he bended a pillar in the trench by only raising his arm. He then opened his and into it landed his staff. Toph grinned. 'This guy really knows how to keep it interesting.'

He then used his staff and slammed into the ground creating his own wave of upturned earth. Crag was again caught off guard and was hit in the stomach by the pillars of rock suddenly forming in the ground. He recovered leaving himself only three or four meters to work with from the edge of the stage. A boulder came out of the shrinking cloud of dirt and propelled itself at Crag.

Not wanting to lose by ring out, he dove to the side, allowing the boulder to embed itself into the wall of the stands. A series of smaller stones rocketed toward the retreating fighter driving him into a corner. Everyone knew, including him, that he was outmaneuvered and outmatched by the powerhouse preteen.

There was a powerful wind, clearing what remained of the smokescreen. But the Arrowhead was nowhere to be seen. The only thing that was left was a pillar of earth protruding from the ground at an angle. Toph smiled at her friend's unusual attack. He certainly had a flair for the theatrical.

There was a murmur of confusion that spread through the audience. Only when one of the spectators yelped and pointed at the sky, did people understand what had happened. The Arrowhead launched himself into the air. Crag looked up with the crowd and unfortunately could not react fast enough to counter the airborne attack.

The Arrowhead slammed into the ground, sending another dust cloud into the air. The newest obstruction was quickly dispersed, and the crowd saw Crag shielding his face in a futile effort to block the suspended attack. The Arrowhead had once again, encased his right arm into a cone and pointed it at Crag's face.

The crowd was silent, holding their breath to see if he would finish the attack. Nobody moved, not even the officiants, not knowing what to expect. Then the cone crumbling into nothing as the Arrowhead offered his hand as to help his opponent. Crag lowered his arms, grinning as he took his hand.

The audience exploded into cheers for the marvelous victory. The Arrowhead was ushered into the center ring as his arm was hoisted into the air.

"The winner: The Arrowhead!"

The spectators showed their approval by cheering louder at the pronouncement.

He was signaled to head back to the locker rooms. And he did so, holding the cut in his side. He looked up as he approached the entrance to the tunnel. Toph could feel the tense body relax and could imagine his smile.

"Nice win, Red," Toph said, offering her help.

'Thanks' He wrote it in the ground, using his staff. He had barely finished his message when he collapsed, leaning on Toph.

Surprised at his untimely fall, she called for an officiant to bring him to the locker room.

She tried to hide her reddening cheeks.

She scoffed, looking at his retreating figure. "Lightweight."

* * *

Aang woke up slowly. He felt something wet at his side, as if someone had submerged only his left side in water. It was a strange feeling. But at the same time, familiar. He opened his eyes, to see the flickering light of a torch in what seemed to be the locker room. He turned to see Katara, healing his wound. Aang waited until she was done to say anything.

"There," she sighed, wiping her brow. She looked over and was startled to see him awake.

"Thanks Katara," he said.

She frowned when he said it. "You don't sound right. Are you sick? Here, let me heal that for you." She moved to heal his throat, but Aang moved away.

"I'm alright, really," he insisted, not convincing either of them.

Katara chose not to force it, much to Aang's relief.

"How'd you get in here?" asked Aang. "I thought it was off limits to nonparticipants."

"Toph got me in, saying I was your manager or something. Asked me to heal her friend." She was trying to keep a straight face, though a smile was pulling at her lips.

Aang ignored it and looked around the room. It seemed to be an office or something; there were loose pieces of parchment and brushes littered on the ground.

"Where is Toph, anyway?"

"She's still watching the matches." Katara rolled her eyes at the earthbender's unusual tastes.

"Alright. I'll go join her." He jumped up, grabbed his staff, made to enter the waiting room.

"Hey, Aang." He turned around to see Katara smiling at him. "You were right, that Arrowhead is an awesome bender."

He winked and ran out of the room, letting Katara return to her brother and his obnoxious cheering.

* * *

He found Toph in the same spot as before, kneeling on the ground, concentrating to see the fighters. He took up his post opposite her and leaned against the wall.

"Glad to see you're up and at 'em," she said without even looking up.

'How far in the tournament are we?' he traced the characters into the ground.

"We've finished your bracket and mine. We're on the last fight of the third bracket. Some guy named Haru versus Rhino or something."

He turned around and he saw Haru fighting. He clearly had the upper hand, using is gentle style of bending to parry his opponent's attacks rather than stop them outright. His opponent, on the other hand was sending boulder after boulder against the teenager. It must have been towards the end of the time limit because the Rhino was struggling to stand. Sweat was pooling at his feet, and his legs were visibly shaking.

Haru took the opportunity to trip his opponent, throwing a rock low to the ground. It was a simple technique, but it was effective. The Rhino couldn't even try to get up. Officiants rushed in and declared Haru the winner of the match.

Not wanting to be recognized, Aang pretended to cough to avoid making eye contact with the newest victor. Haru walked by, either fooled by Aang's fake cough or pretending to be. Either way, it avoided an awkward conversation that Toph would have had first row seats for.

"Well, that last guy was pretty good," Toph stated, startling Aang.

"Uh, yeah, he is," he returned, staring after the earth bender that was no longer visible.

"Do you think you would be able to beat him?"

Aang had to pause to think about it. "It would be a close call. I think we're about even."

Toph grinned at his estimate. "I think I'm gonna have a lot of fun tonight."

* * *

_Alright. Okay. I definitely deserve any and all complaints about not updating in... Good God, more than a year. But let me just say, fanfiction, I have to be in the right mood to read it, let alone write it. And the event that has put me in the right mood was the two hour finale of Avatar. It was a gift from heaven itself. But that's enough of that. Anybody who reads this will know and agree with me._

_Now about the writing itself. I started it probably when Chapter 4 was out. I saw the finale, suffered from withdrawal, and set out to write this, and it was already started, on my computer. The style, I think has changed drastically, I have done creative writing in a long time. Also, characters seemed out of character to me, but please excuse that. I accredit to poetic license.  
_

_As usual, I don't think this chapter was that great. But avid readers (if they still exist and haven't abandoned me) will tell me otherwise, I'm sure._

_Please read and review, as always. Because they give me the warm fuzzies to keep me writing._


	6. Begin, The Quarterfinal Round!

**Arrowhead and the Blind Bandit**

_Chapter 6: Begin, The Quarterfinal Round!_**  
**

by: Jung Ho

**Standard Disclaimer:** I don't own the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. All characters and concepts are owned by Nickelodeon/Viacom.

* * *

The crowd, loud and cheering a moment ago, was no longer doing so. There was a lull, and not without the occasional whine or complaint. The reason of the unrest was due to the fifteen minute break the officants had called. The first round of the finals had been completed in such a timely fashion, that the quarterfinal round was delayed.

It was this low point in the tournament that caused Sokka to take a break from the overloaded fan-boy attitude he had adopted since the beginning of the tournament. It was a welcome change of pace, but there was only one thing wrong with it. He was bored. Incredibly so. His sister had gone to play "trainer" to Toph, and had left him in the stands. And after five minutes of doing nothing, he was tempted to join Katara.

He was sitting at very back of the stadium, right at the edge of the row of seats. And it seemed many people were taking advantage of the fifteen minute break because everybody in his row was taking turns leaving to use the bathroom, get more food, or to just stretch their legs. Now Sokka was feeling the new wave of annoyance and decided to go find the fighter's locker room and visit his sister. Whatever she was doing has to be better than sitting doing nothing.

* * *

"So how're you feeling Red?"

Her friend had to lean over to Katara and whispered into her ear.

"He says he's doing alright, but seems to have lost his voice."

"Again?" Toph said with some exasperation. The boy sitting down nodded his head.

"Yes again," repeated Katara, in case Toph hadn't picked up on his nonverbal message.

"Whatever. You can still fight right?"

He nodded again.

"Good. I haven't had a chance to fight you yet. You can drop out after that."

Neither person thought of reminding Toph that in order to fight, they would have to meet in the finals.

"Hey." Both Katara and Toph turned to face the new person. The boy on the bench instead looked towards his hands which were wrestling each other.

"How're you holding up, 'Bandit'?" asked Sokka, with a very obvious wink in her direction.

Toph couldn't see the attempt at subtlty, so Katara rolled her eyes for her.

"What're you talking about? I haven't had to fight yet."

"Oh, yeah…"

It was Toph's turn to roll her eyes.

"Anyway, who's this guy?" asked Sokka, pointing to the boy on the bench.

"Oh, he's another fighter. Sokka, meet the Arrowhead, " explained Toph.

"The Arrowhead?! Really? That's amazing! His first round was awesome!" Sokka was beside himself with excitement.

The Arrowhead looked up, and made eye contact. He was speechless for a moment, before lamely greeting him.

He looked from Aang to Toph flabbergasted. He settled on Toph and asked, "You don't recognize him do you?"

Toph shrugged. "No. Why should I?"

Sokka was about to reveal Aang's identity, but then caught Katara's stare and Aang's frantic nod.

"No reason, just thought we've met before in a different town, is all," he said, still confused at why Toph didn't recognize the airbender.

"Oh. Well, he says he's not from around here, so it's definitely a possibility," offered the Blind Bandit.

Katara nodded, trying to throw off any suspicion. "Yeah, I mean even Haru's here. At least I think it's him. He's got a bit of a goatee now."

Sokka cringed slightly at the memory of watching their friend in the ring. "That's true. I guess the lure of 500 gold pieces lures a lot of people from everywhere."

He turned his attention on Toph's 'new' friend. "Arrowhead, right?" Aang nodded his head. "Can I talk to you a minute?"

Aang got up, and both of them headed toward the entrance way to the stadium.

"Why did he want to talk to him?" asked Toph.

Katara shrugged and feigned ignorance. "Boys…" she answered as if that explained everything. And strangely enough, Toph seemed to take it as an adequate answer.

* * *

The two reached the tunnel where they could get a little bit of privacy. Sokka then started questioning his friend.

"So what're you doing here?" asked Sokka.

Aang shrugged. "Having fun I guess." His voice was indeed gone, because Sokka had to strain to hear it at all.

"That's not what I meant. Why aren't you guarding camp?"

"Oh come on, Sokka. We left Appa to guard it. And I don't think anybody's gonna try to steal from a six ton flying bison."

Sokka adopted a body position as if to argue the counter point, but failed to say anything, seeing as how, it made sense, even if it was Aang sense. Appa _was_ the best guard-bison ever. Sokka instead face-palmed and continued on after Aang's 'satisfactory' answer.

"Alright fine. But why didn't you tell me you were gonna fight?"

Again, Aang shrugged at his question. "I dunno. I didn't think to tell you, I guess."

Sokka seemed to accept his answer, though slightly miffed at his reason.

"Alright next question then. Why doesn't Toph recognize you? She has said you have really light footsteps."

Aang didn't shrug at his question, but instead went into deep thought. His face lit up and he rolled up his pant legs, revealing the weights underneath. "These are probably making my footsteps heavier."

Sokka knelt down to examine them. "Where'd you get them?"

"Toph."

The blue-clad boy stood up, dusting himself off.

"Makes sense. Last question. Why are you hiding from Toph?"

"Because I promised I wouldn't come."

A face of confusion suddenly appeared on Sokka. "Oh?"

"Yeah. If she finds me here, she's gonna give me the 'training session from the Spirit World."

"Why would she do that?"

"Well, I have been tired for the past few days, I'm sure it shows." Sokka nodded knowingly. "And my bending hasn't exactly been at it's best. She'd probably make that into enough reason."

Both of the boys shuddered at the thought, as they both have been victimized my Toph's antics.

"Please don't tell her I'm here," pleaded Aang, grabbing Sokka's shirt, with a look of desperation on his face.

Sokka grabbed the airbender's shoulders and cracked a grin. "Don't worry. Nobody, not even the Firelord deserves that kind of torture."

Aang breathed a sigh of relief at his friend's promise.

* * *

Toph felt the two boys approaching before she could hear them. As soon as they were in earshot, she called to them loudly, "What did Club Head want anyway, Red?"

She felt again the slightly faster heartbeat from before, as the boys in question slowed down.

"I just wanted his autograph," Sokka said as calmly as he could. They seemed to pause as if to look at each other before he continued. "I mean how can I not with the way he fought out there?"

Toph shrugged, her way of just accepting their explanation. She turned to talk to Katara. "So is there anything else you need to check on me?" The water bender had been checking the Blind Bandit for any serious injury or pain, to get her ready for her big fight.

"Nope, none."

"Great."

With that Toph hopped off the bench. She was itching for a chance to fight. She cracked her knuckles menacingly, as if she was in the ring intimidating her opponent.

"Wait a minute there, Bandit." The voice was feminine and just at that instant, highly annoying. "You don't know if your gonna be fighting this next round right now. For all we know, they could start with the first bracket. They did get the most rest."

"Well aright, but I'm next right?"

"No."

"What?"

"Arrowhead would be after that."

She let out a huff. She turned to her new rival. "You better make it worth waiting, Red." She could almost see his grin spread across his face and his accompanying nod.

Just then, the reverberating sound of the gong permeated the locker room, silencing all of the remaining fighters. The officiant came out of the tunnel leading to the arena and cleared his throat. "The second round is about to begin. The first round is Hobbit versus Kwon. Will the two fighters please come with me?"

With that the sixteen year old that introduced himself to Aang before stood up. Toph sensed the other fighter's footsteps at the other end of the room. The others were whispering to each other.

"What's up?"

"It's a kid."

Toph perked up. She put her hand on the floor just to be sure. Sure enough, she felt a kid a full head shorter than her walk up to the officiant. She half expected the man to turn the kid away, but he instead ushered them towards the ring. Her face cracked into a grin so wide, it seemed humanly impossible to express that much happiness.

"Come on, Red. Let's go."

With that, she grabbed her fellow fighter's wrist and dragged him to the tunnel.

Katara struggled to keep her grin from showing, but was failing desperately. Even Sokka took notice of it.

"What's so funny?"

"Toph sure is having a lot of fun, isn't she?"

Sokka shrugged. "Hey that 's fine. As long as she's not picking on me."

* * *

Aang didn't protest to being pulled. Not that it would make much difference anyway. She was going to have her way, his opinion be damned. But the other reason why he didn't complain was the Hobbit also interested him. It was the first time seeing a bender younger than him of the same caliber. He had to agree with Toph; this definitely was going to be an interesting match.

They barely made it to the entranceway when the referee started the fight. The Hobbit jumped back to distance himself from his opponent. He then proceeded to bend stilts for himself. He also bended long rock arms to cover his own.

Kwon on the other hand, was rolling his sleeves up to uncover both of his arm braces. He then put both arms behind him and somehow locked the braces together. He had, for all intents and purposes of the fight, had no arms.

The Hobbit released the first attack. He whipped one of his long rock snack arms toward the handicapped fighter. Kwon jumped to dodge the attack. At least, that's what it looked like. When he didn't come down immediately Aang along with the crowd looked up. He had used his hands to bend two small stones to act as footholds, just hovering over his opponent's arm.

The Hobbit used his other arm to make a mid-air attack. Kwon dodged again, but instead, stopped bending the two stones. He fell and landed gracefully on the arm on the ground. He used his hands to flatten the arm, leaving only a few rocks hovering in front of him. Kwon then turned to the offensive.

Kwon delivered a wide range of circular kicks. Roundhouse. Heel. Spinning Heel. Hook. Crescent. Follow-through Roundhouse. Each kick sent a rock careening at the child on the other side of the arena. Hobbit immediately dropped his remaining arm, stopped bending his rock legs, and bended a huge wall out of the ground to block the incoming barrage.

Kwon smirked at the tactic, almost as if he was expecting it. He continued his barrage, propelling rock after rock at the sheltered fighter. It took Toph's comment to realize something was happening. "He's moving to the right."

Aang focused on his movements. Sure enough, he was slowly moving to the right of the wall, gradually getting a better view of the Hobbit. What was amazing was that the Hobbit hadn't noticed. Kwon was able to bend every rock's path to make it seem like they were coming straight at the wall rather than at an angle. By the time Hobbit realized something was off, it was too late.

Kwon stood to his direct right, giving him a clear view of the Hobbit. Kwon smiled as he raised his left leg up, conjuring a small boulder to appear out of the ground. He then kicked the rock as if kicking a soccer ball, right at the pint sized fighter. Hobbit tried to counter but he couldn't get the defending rock there in time. The boulder hit him squarely in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. It propelled him to the wall directly behind him.

Kwon smirked, knowing it was his victory to claim and turned to walk away towards the center of the ring. The Hobbit, however, without a boulder to keep him pinned the wall, began to fall. Aang acted instinctively. He bent a slab of earth to support the now unconscious fighter. The officiants managed to get to him and carry him to the infirmary.

He then looked disapprovingly at the winner, celebrating his victory and advancement to the next round.

Toph whistled at the result of the match. "What a ruthless kid. Hope he doesn't give you too much trouble."

"I'm sure he didn't mean to forget…" Aang started, his voice nearly unrecognizable now.

Just then, Kwon walked by, giving Aang a look that could have frozen water in a desert. "Good luck, Arrowhead." He chuckled darkly as he continued toward the locker room.

"As you were saying?"

Aang put on a serious look, staring at the point where the fighter had disappeared.

"Don't worry," he said, his tone completely different from before.

"I'll beat him."

* * *

Toph's respect for her fellow competitor was always increasing. Not only did he know when to have fun and laugh, but he wasn't completely brainless. He felt angry enough to know that that Kwon kid was not only a creep, but also really good. He wasn't a force to be taken lightly.

She turned her attention back into the ring, where volunteers were clearing it out for the next match, while the head officiant addressed the crowd.

"Let me introduce the second quarterfinal bouts. The next fight is between Tian Xi and 'The Blind Bandit'!"

That got the attention of Red away from the heartless jerk back onto the stage. She was glad. It meant that he was interested in her and her bending. After registering the participants, he turned back to Toph and she could only assume was all smiles again.

'Good Luck.'

She felt a large amount of confidence radiate itself from her companion as he said it. Not that she was lacking in that regard. Too much and she might just lose this next fight. Still, she tried to keep her cool; didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the hillbilly.

"Thanks" she said shaking the metaphoric cobwebs. "But I don't need luck. I've got skill."

He hardly seemed surprised by that response.

'Go get 'em.'

And with that she walked out onto her stage, waiting to put on the show of a lifetime.

* * *

"We are supposed to be looking for the girl, not hanging around a festival!" The properly dressed Master Yu lectured to his companion. "We've already got several notices that he was growing impatient."

"What's he going to do? Send more bounty hunters after us?" countered Xin Fu, the host of Earth Rumble. "The Bei Fongs are rich, but not rich enough to keep spending money on questionable deals."

"I am not a 'questionable deal'! I am an earthbending master and teacher!"

"Please. You're in it for the money. Why else would you be here?"

"Well, some of us prefer to make our under the table transactions under the table."

Xin Fu scoffed as he looked into the ring. Because of his bumbling idiot of a travelling partner, they had missed the first round of the main tournament. He didn't feel too bad though. The quarterfinals were almost over, and he wanted to find new fighters. There was Earth Rumble Seven to think about after all, and he needed fighters.

They found seats at the back of the stadium. They had gotten there right when the officiant announced the next fight. He was about to go back to the judge's table, but instead was intercepted by a volunteer. After a few moments of hurried chatter, the now disgruntled announcer stepped back into the center ring.

"Due to first round finisher, Tian Xi's injured leg, his uncle Lia Gao will take his spot in the proceedings. The new contestants will be the Lia Gao versus The Blind Bandit!"

"What?" Xin Fu couldn't believe his ears. "Who's fighting?"

"Lia Gao, I believe. He doesn't seem like a fighter, though. Hopefully this will be as entertaining as you make it out to be."

"No not him! The other one!"

"The Blind Bandit, I think. What a gaudy name."

"Get up. We've got to go."

"Why? I paid good money for these seats."

"Because," Xin Fu said as he cracked a grin. "It's time to pay little Ms. Bei Fong a visit."

* * *

Toph walked out into the arena, ready to fight. She was actually pretty bummed that she was given a bye in the first round. This was, after all a way to blow off some steam. How was she supposed to do that if she wasn't given a chance to knock someone's lights out.

'At least I get the chance now,' Toph reminded herself. 'This had better be worth the wait.'

She turned towards the entrance of the arena after first making to the center herself. Her opponent opted to use a substitute, his uncle if she remembered correctly. And she was raring to go. Her excitement died down and a frown started to appear on her face as she felt three different feet work in synchrony make their owner's way to the center circle.

Toph heard a murmur run through the crowd.

"Why is Elder Lia Gao fighting for his nephew?"

"I didn't know that Tian Xi was related to one of the council members.."

"No wonder Tian Xi was a prodigy. He's related to Lia Gao."

"But isn't Lia Gao almost 110? He shouldn't be fighting."

Toph wasn't about to let the chatter behind her sway her into shaking where she stood. Still, she couldn't ignore the fact that the old geezer standing in front of her was a very capable bender. After all, nobody protested that he was fighting for his nephew.

Lia Gao slowly made his way to the center of the arena, smiling all the while.

"Well hello there. Are you my opponent?"

The cheery grandfather put Toph on uneven footing. On one hand, he was a competitor, a target for her jeers and jokes. But on the other, he was a kind-hearted person, willing to risk his health and body for his nephew. Toph ended up responding with a small nod, feeling uncomfortable with having to fight him.

"Oh, but aren't you blind?" Toph twitched. This old fool was going down.

Old man Gao chuckled. "Though who am I to say? I'm practically dust."

This old man! Toph didn't know how to play this match. It was off putting.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on using the whole half hour. I'm much too tired for that. Let's make this match quick. I'll feel better about advancing you when I know you can handle yourself against Kwon."

Toph smiled awkwardly. "Well then, let's go old man. I want to have some fun with this!"

The gong rang, the spectators cheered, and the match started.

* * *

_This was started September 8, 2008 and published March 8, 2010. It has taken me exactly 18 months to finish this chapter. I feel bad for those waiting on this chapter for the length of time and the length of the chapter. __I'm a college sophomore right now, and it's definitely been a while since I wrote anything remotely like fanfiction. I mean, When this chapter was first started, I was still technically a highschooler._ But I felt I owed it to you to publish something after a year and a half. I don't know if any of you have grown out of this series, but I still enjoy watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. (It kind of annoys me that I now have to add that last part for people to understand what I'm talking about. Stupid James Cameron.)

_The chapter itself was wonky. I mean, I know where I want to take this story and I know how it's going to end, but I can't seem to drive it the way I want it to go. I've only just figured out how to do so organically. And of course, there are discrepancies in style and what not, because of the 18 month gap. Still, I hope it's an enjoyable read, and that it makes you excited for what happens next. _

_Please read and review, so I know how to proceed from here. Not saying it will be immediate, but I don't ever plan on dropping this story until it's done done. But if you want something to happen, let me know because I might add it in. Thank you for your patience and I hope that the next time you read something like this, it won't be right before the world ends. (2012 joke, anyone? Definitely not gonna happen, by the way.) _


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